October 2012

10/28/2012

Last summer, a drunk Arizona police officer named Robb Gary Evans drove
himself to a bar, flashed his badge to avoid paying cover at the door,
and then walked up behind a woman, put his hand up her skirt, and ran his fingers over her genitals.
A jury convicted him of sexual abuse, a felony with a maximum sentence
of 2 and a half years in prison, and Evans was fired from the police
force after an internal investigation.

Nevertheless, Arizona trial Judge Jacqueline Hatch, who was appointed to the bench by Gov. Jan Brewer (R-AZ),
decided that Evans’ actions did not warrant jail time — sentencing him
probation and 100 hours of community service. Evans also will not have
to register as a sex offender. Yet, while Judge Hatch apparently did not
view the disgraced former cop’s actions as particularly serious, she
had some very harsh words for the woman he assaulted:

Bad things can happen in bars, Hatch told the victim, adding that other people might be more intoxicated than she was.

“If you wouldn’t have been there that night, none of this would have happened to you,” Hatch said.

Hatch told the victim and the defendant that no one would be happy
with the sentence she gave, but that finding an appropriate sentence was
her duty.

“I hope you look at what you’ve been through and try to take
something positive out of it,” Hatch said to the victim in court. “You
learned a lesson about friendship and you learned a lesson about
vulnerability.”

Hatch said that the victim was not to blame in the case, but that all women must be vigilant against becoming victims.

“When you blame others, you give up your power to change,” Hatch said that her mother used to say.

10/14/2012

H.R. 347 is a bill that is clearly, and unarguably unconstitutional. The bill (whose full text can be found here: http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c112:H.R.347:) prohibits
people from entering "restricted" areas, disrupting the orderly
functions of government, or even being near these areas!
This is a clear violation of the 1st amendment which reads:
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or
prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of
speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to
assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."
The assembly of people whether or not it's in a "restricted area" or not
is protected. Plus, what about journalist who have to report near such
areas for a story? What if they get in the way of a grand tsar trying to
access one of this buildings? Will they be whisked away by the mighty
rule of our king?

10/01/2012

In July, the Fed chairman sent letters of gratitude
to five Democratic members of Congress after they delivered speeches on
the House floor urging fellow lawmakers to reject the “Audit the Fed”
bill authored by retiring Texas Republican Ron Paul, the central bank’s
chief antagonist.

Their efforts failed to defeat the bill, but they were not in vain, at least in Bernanke’s eyes.

“While the outcome of the vote was not in doubt, your willingness
to stand up for the independence of the Federal Reserve is greatly
appreciated,” Bernanke wrote in the letters, which were obtained by
POLITICO through a Freedom of Information Act request.

So who did Bernanke send those letters to?

According to Politico,
the thank you letters were delivered to U.S. Representatives Barney
Frank, Elijah Cummings, Melvin Watt, Carolyn Maloney and Steny Hoyer.